When I first asked former Loyola HS football player Van Brooks to join me this morning, I’ll admit I looked at the calendar and thought to myself, “Well, the Caps will probably lay an egg in Philadelphia on Wednesday night…what better way to forget about that than to bring Van into the studio and talk about the great work he’s doing in the community?”

Part one of that equation came true last night when the Caps embarrassed themselves in the city of Brotherly Love and dropped a 6-4 decision to the worst franchise in all of sports.

Part two plays out this morning when Van Brooks joins me in studio to talk about his foundation and the work he’s doing in Baltimore these days.

I hope you’ll listen starting at 8am because this is an extraordinary young man who has battled enormous odds since suffering a serious spinal cord injury while playing football for Loyola back in 2004.

They told Van he’d never walk again.

They were wrong. THIS VIDEO right here shows you the latest installment in Van’s recovery.

I’m not going to tell you all of Van’s story here. I’d rather you listen today and hear it all for yourself.

That said, HERE IS HIS WEBSITE and information on the SAFE Alternative for Education Found he developed to assist Baltimore youth with their educational goals.

If you miss the show, please go to WNST.net and check out our Buy A Toyota.com audio vault to hear it all.

One thing for sure, the work Van Brooks is doing in our community deserves our support, which is why I’m bringing him on with me today.

As I often say, this is also the sort of work we at WNST should be doing on a weekly basis…namely, helping someone in Baltimore who is doing their part to make our community better.

I’m impressed with Van Brooks and I know you will be too. Please listen today. Please visit his website. And please appreciate what he’s doing for Baltimore.

I also owe a special thank you to my friend Tony Young who helped make Van’s visit possible by organizing his appearance and keeping me up to speed with the foundation and Van’s work in the community.